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Holyoke Lady Dragon basketball team finished regular season action last week and headed into districts in the No. 3 spot with a 6-2 record in league standings.

Coach Arlan Scholl said they have done well so far this season and now hold an overall record of 13 wins and six losses.

Concluding regular season with a busy week, the girls were defeated 31-40 by Yuma at home Tuesday, Feb. 19. A snowstorm caused Thursday’s game in Akron to be rescheduled for Saturday, with Holyoke losing 39-60.

The Dragons started out slow in their Tuesday game against Yuma, allowing the Indians to build a seven-point lead in the first quarter. Holyoke outscored them 12-9 in the second, lessening the gap to four.

Both teams put up nine in the third period, with Yuma outscoring the Dragons 12-7 in the final for the nine-point 40-31 win.

In team stats, senior Erin Vieselmeyer led scoring with nine points including four 2-pointers and 1-of-2 from the line. She also had 10 rebounds.

Audi Peña is up and over the Yuma defense in last Tuesday’s game on the Dragon court. Peña suffered a severe sprained ankle in the final quarter. —Enterprise photo

Chandler Gerk and Erin Vieselmeyer each grabbed two steals.

Dragon starter Audi Peña sprained her ankle in Tuesday night’s game with Yuma. As of Monday, Scholl did not know if she would be able to play on it this week because of the pain.

Holyoke 60, Sedgwick County 58

“The Sedgwick County game turned out to be a hard fought battle,” said Scholl. “We just couldn’t seem to stop their offense.”

He admitted the ball seemed to be falling for Sedgwick County Friday night, but Holyoke still needed to play a little tougher defense around the basket.

HHS came out with a six-point lead after the first quarter, but Sedgwick County’s second-quarter score doubled Holyoke’s at 22-11, bringing the score to 32-27 in Sedgwick County’s advantage.

Holyoke kicked it in gear in the third, with 20 points to 12 and gaining a three-point lead. The final period was closely matched, but the Dragons came out on top for the 60-58 win.

“The girls continued to fight to the end and brought home the victory,” said Scholl.

He said that win put Holyoke in a tie with Yuma for the second-place spot in the district, but because Yuma beat Holyoke “head to head,” HHS dropped down to the third spot heading into the district tournament this week.

Friday night, Erin Vieselmeyer led her team with 23 points and 13 rebounds. She made 21-of-26 free throws, with 15 chances from the line in the second half of the game.

Maddie King made 4-of-5 and Gerk 2-of-2 to give Holyoke an 81 percent in free throw shooting accuracy. King and Gerk made 14 and 11 total points, respectively.

King had two blocks, Zuri Lopez and King two steals apiece and Megan and Erin Vieselmeyer three assists apiece.

Holyoke 39, Akron 60

Playing in Akron last Saturday, Scholl said the game was a difficult match up for the team. “Facing the undefeated, No. 1-ranked team in 2A is always a challenge, but this was particularly daunting when we were without one of our key starters, a key substitute and another starter battling sickness,” he added.

The girls started hard and took the early lead, but Scholl said they didn’t have the depth and stamina to play a complete game at the level that they needed to on that particular day.

By the end of the first quarter, Akron had pulled ahead with a 20-9 lead and ended the half ahead 34-16.

Holyoke put up eight and 15 points in the next two quarters, compared to Akron’s 16 and 10 points, giving the Rams the 60-39 win.

Erin Vieselmeyer was the top Dragon scorer with 19 points including four 2-pointers, two 3-pointers and 5-of-9 free throws.

King brought down 12 rebounds and had three assists. King, Gerk and Megan and Erin Vieselmeyer each had one steal.

Upcoming action

No. 3 Holyoke kicked off district action early this week, hosting No. 6 Burlington Tuesday, Feb. 26. Results of that game will be reported in next week’s Enterprise.

A win on Tuesday would put them in a 7:30 p.m. game Thursday, Feb. 28 at NJC. The third- and fourth-place game is set for Saturday, March 2 at 10 a.m. at NJC, with the contest for district champion at 1 p.m. on Saturday.